Curfew violators won’t be arrested — PNP

MANILA, Philippines — There will be no arrests and no physical punishments for curfew violators during the enhanced community quarantine period, the Philippine National Police (PNP) clarified yesterday.

Lt. Gen. Guillermo Eleazar, PNP deputy chief for operations, said violators will face charges once the quarantine has been lifted. 

PNP chief Gen. Archie Gamboa ordered that “curfew violators will no longer be detained. We will compile all the circumstances and file them at large after this crisis,” Eleazar said in Filipino during a Laging Handa press briefing.

Eleazar warned the public against loitering outside their homes as they could face charges of resistance or disobedience to persons in authority if they continue to violate quarantine protocols.

He said the PNP will investigate allegations that some local officials are imposing physical punishments on their residents who violate the curfew.

Eleazar’s statement comes after viral videos showing local officials punishing alleged curfew violators by making them stand or sit under the sun or locking them in dog cages.

Meanwhile, the PNP reported that a policeman considered to be a person under monitoring (PUM) died yesterday morning of cardiac arrest. The policeman was on self-quarantine and had a history of exposure to a COVID-positive person.

There are 97 PNP personnel considered persons under investigation while another 1,228 are PUMs as of yesterday.

Quezon City allots P1 billion for food packs

Around 500,000 households belonging to the vulnerable sector in Quezon City can expect weekly food packs from the city government until the end of the enhanced community quarantine in Luzon. 

The city government of Quezon City said it has allocated P1 billion to procure food packs that would be good for around seven days for a family of five that will be distributed on a weekly basis. 

At least 730,000 food packs have been given out since the quarantine was imposed on March 17.

These food packs include eight kilos of rice, seven canned goods, five noodle packs, a pack of cupcakes and instant coffee.

One pack costs at least P550 and up to P800 as local officials say they are procuring more food items that will be included in the relief goods. 

Tricycle drivers, whose trips have been grounded due to the shutdown of mass transportation, have been tapped to distribute the food packs to the barangays.

The city will tap 20 tricycle drivers per day in each of its districts, with shifting duties for the drivers who will be paid P500 daily.

The city government also reported that seven new COVID-19 cases were confirmed as of Friday night, bringing the total to 104. Seventeen of them have died, while nine have recovered.

In Navotas, Mayor Toby Tiangco announced yesterday that a resident died of COVID-19. The patient, who had no travel history, died on March 25 and the test result was released yesterday.

Caloocan’s largest barangay, Bagong Silang, went on lockdown yesterday after three residents tested positive for COVID-19. Bagong Silang is the country’s biggest in terms of land area and the most populous barangay, with a population of 246,515 as of the 2015 census.  – With Janvic Mateo, Marc Jayson Cayabyab